Thinking time
I've had a lot of things to think about this week, so I've gone on a few walks. I found some geocaches along the way, but even better I think my head is a bit more sorted out now. [kml: 20150408-1] [kml: 20150408-2] [kml: 20150409-2]
Bendora Arboretum and Bulls Head trig
Prompted largely by a not very detailed entry in a book, a bunch of friends and I went to explore Bendora Arboretum. The arboretum was planted in the 1940's as scientific experiments exploring what soft woods would grow well in our climate -- this was prompted by the large amount of wood Australia was importing at the time. There were 34 Arboreta originally, but only this one remains. The last three other than this one were destroyed in the 2003 bush fires. This walk appears in Best Bush, Town and Village Walks in and around the ACT by Marion Stuart, which was the inspiration for this outing. The only thing to note with her description is that the walk is a fair bit longer than she describes -- its 2km from the locked gate to the hut, which means a 4km return walk before you explore the arboretum at all. The arboretum has received some attention from the ACT government recently, with new signage and a fresh gravel pass. Also please note this area might only be accessible by four wheel drive in winter, which is not mentioned in the book. We also did a side trip to Bulls Head…
A quick walk through Curtin
What do you do when you accidentally engaged a troll on twitter? You go for a walk of course. I didn't realize there had been a flash flood in Canberra in 1971 that killed seven people, probably because I wasn't born then. However, when I ask people who were around then, they don't remember without prompting either, which I think is sad. I only learnt about the flood because of the geocache I found hidden at the (not very well advertised) memorial today. This was walk inspired by one from Best Bush, Town and Village Walks in and around the ACT by Marion Stuart. I was disappointed that the guide book didn't mention the flash flood however, and skips the memorial. [kml: 20150323]
Narrabundah trig and 16 geocaches
I walked to the Narrabundah trig yesterday, along the way collecting 15 of the 16 NRL themed caches in the area. It would have been all 16, except I can't find the last one for the life of me. I'm going to have to come back. I really like this area. Its scenic, has nice trails, and you can't tell you're in Canberra unless you really look for it. It seemed lightly used to be honest, I think I saw three other people the entire time I was there. I encountered more dogs off lead than people. [kml: 20150321]
A quick trip to Namadgi
I thought I'd drop down to the Namadgi visitors centre to have a look during lunch because I hadn't been there since being a teenager. I did a short walk to Gudgenby Hut, and on the way back discovered this original border blaze tree. Its stacked on pallets at the moment, but is apparently intended for display one day. This is how much of the ACT's boarder was marked originally -- blazes cut on trees. [kml: 20150320-1]
Goodwin trig
I talk about urban trigs, but this one takes the cake. Concrete paths, street lighting, and a 400 meter walk. I bagged this one on the way home from picking something up in Belconnen. To be honest, I can't see myself coming here again. [kml: 20150318-2]
Stromlo and Brown Trigs
So, the Facebook group set off for our biggest Trig walk yet today -- Stromlo and Brown Trigs. This ended up being a 15km walk with a little bit of accidental trespass (sorry!) and about 600 meters of vertical rise. I was expecting Stromlo to be prettier to be honest, but it wasn't very foresty. Brown was in nicer territory, but its still not the nicest bit of Canberra I've been to. I really enjoyed this walk though, thanks to Simon, Tony and Jasmine for coming along! [kml: 20150309]
Tuggeranong Hill (again)
I walked up Tuggeranong Hill again, this time as a geocaching run. This is the first trig I've visited twice! [kml: 20150225]
Oakey trig
I've got to say, this trig was disappointing. It was a lunch time walk, so a bit rushed, but the trig was just boring. Not particularly far, or particularly steep, or in a particularly interesting area. That said, it wasn't terrible. It just felt generic compared with other trigs I've walked to. [kml: 20150223]
Geocaching
I've been trapped at home with either a sick child or a sick me for the last four or five days. I was starting to go a bit stir crazy, so I ducked out for some local geocaching. An enjoyable shortish walk around the nearby nature park. [kml: 20150222]